A Christian advocacy group Thursday unequivocally condemned the "culture of impunity" in India and said the inciters and perpetrators of communal violence must be brought to justice.

In a briefing highlighting the patterns of communal violence in India, Christian Solidarity Worldwide underlined the need for investigating the activities of extremist organizations responsible for instigating violence and the failings of law enforcement authorities in response to such violence.

The briefing, "Communalism, anti-Christian violence and the law," focuses on the aftermath of communal violence in the east Indian state of Orissa in 2008, and the “regular, frequent attacks” on Christians concentrated in six other states, typically in the form of well-targeted mob violence. more >>

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has expressed grave concern over the growing violence against Christians in the country.

"We are very concerned at the escalating incidents of violence against Christians. I have personally called our member churches all over the world to pray for churches in India," WARC General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi said on Friday.

WARC is one of the oldest confessional bodies, serving more than 75 million Christians in about 107 countries. Among the WARC member churches in India are the CSI, CNI and Presbyterian Church. more >>

NEW DELHI (Compass Direct News) – Minority Christians in southern Karnataka state are under an unprecedented wave of Christian persecution, having faced more than 1,000 attacks in 500 days, according to an independent investigation by a former judge of the Karnataka High Court.

The spate began on Sept. 14, 2008, when at least 12 churches were attacked in one day in Karnataka’s Mangalore city, in Dakshina Kannada district, said Justice Michael Saldanha, former judge of the Karnataka High Court.

“On Jan. 26 – the day we celebrated India’s Republic Day – Karnataka’s 1,000th attack took place in Mysore city,” Saldanha told Compass, saying the figure was based on reports from faith-based organizations. more >>

NEW DELHI (Compass Direct News) – Attacks on Christians last month in Punjab state following protests against banners depicting Jesus drinking and smoking were eerily similar to the anti-Christian violence in Orissa state in 2007 and 2008, according to a fact-finding mission.

“I was struck by the similarities between the attacks in northern Punjab state and the violence in eastern Orissa state in 2007 and 2008,” said Dr. John Dayal, a member of the All India Christian Council (AICC) fact-finding mission, which released the report yesterday.

Dayal pointed out that factors such as the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being part of the ruling coalition, police inaction, coordination of attacks and support of the local merchant community for Hindu nationalist groups in the anti-Christian attacks in Punjab reminded him of mayhem in Orissa’s Kandhamal district. more >>

An illustration of Jesus holding a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other has sparked outrage among India’s Christian community.

What’s worse is that the image was published in a textbook for primary school children. The beer-drinking Jesus illustration was found under the letter “I,” for idol, in a textbook teaching children how to write cursive.

“Jesus Christ, who we, along with other Christians across the world, consider as the Son of God, was demeaned,” expressed the Indian Catholic Youth Movement of the Shillong Archdiocese in a statement. “The publication of the despicable picture has deeply hurt our religious sentiments, and its publisher has manifestly breached the provisions of the Constitution of India.” more >>

Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka arrested and tortured 11 tribal Christians for allegedly forcefully converting Hindus, a Christian persecution watchdog reported Monday.

Washington-based International Christian Concern recently learned that the group of tribal Christians, which included four women, was jailed on Feb. 2. They were all released on bond two days later after local Christian leaders intervened.

“We condemn the Indian police for arresting and torturing the eleven tribal Christians,” said Jonathan Racho, regional manager for Africa and South Asia at ICC, in a statement Monday. “We urge India to stop targeting the victims of persecution and protect them against attacks by Hindu radicals.” more >>